


Shuffle and Showtime

by daytimeDyking, panasonicgirl (de4tht0Imm0rta1s)



Series: Kepler Sempiternal [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Everyone Is Gay, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, another title is 'i project onto Dani and Jake and no one can stop me', because im gay and say so, chapters include notes if i remember, characters with mental illnesses/disorders, damn my tags are long, descriptions of panic attacks, its kinda a roles reversed au? but tailored to fit my ideas, tagged t for cussing and canon typical violence, this is some bullshit au i made completely on my own, upped the rating to mature for the slightly more detailed violence and such
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-09-28 10:15:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20424302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daytimeDyking/pseuds/daytimeDyking, https://archiveofourown.org/users/de4tht0Imm0rta1s/pseuds/panasonicgirl
Summary: Welcome to the town of Kepler, West Virginia! Enjoy the sights such as the cryptid merch store, Creepin' It Real!; visit a concert by the local singer The Lady Fang; join the local High School stunt club, the Kepler Selkies, with their weekly citywide trash pickup! Though not everything is always as it may seem, the city is known for its large amounts of Mothman sightings, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled, or you may just miss him!





	1. Welcome to Kepler!

**Author's Note:**

> If the formatting is odd, please let me know and I will attempt to fix it, I haven't posted a fic on here for a couple years, and I also haven't written much in a while, so this may be a bit clunky at first, so just....stick with me please

Your name is Hollis Wilson and you are completely and utterly fucked. 

Standing at the end of your bed is a hologram-esque figure, whose gentle blue light woke you up from a horrible dream you were having.  


“Hello, Hollis Wilson.” The figure smiles down at you, their soft, motherly voice shocking you, yet easing your nerves quickly.

“I’m aware that you’re very concerned about your family now, young one, but I can promise you they are quite well. I do apologize that I had to put you through that, but I had to make sure that I decided correctly, and it seems I did!” Her soft voice picked up, and you shifted so your back rested against the wall behind you.  


“Decided correctly for what?” You managed to croak out, your throat suddenly going dry.  


“To save the world!” You blanch, to which the figure takes a seat, seeming on nothing. “My name is Moira, and do we have a bit to discuss, Hollis Wilson.”

\----

Your name is Danielle Evelyn Keen and you are sure you’re going to end up in jail this time.  
When you had inspected this house before breaking in the side window, you were sure that everyone was asleep, or away, but apparently this is where your luck runs out.  
A beautiful dark-skinned woman stands in front of you, her brilliant amber eyes staring at you in complete shock, whatever she was previously saying stopped as her mouth hung open, staring at your body half hanging out of her window.  


“Damn, Aubs, I know the rooms a little messier than usual but don’t stand there like you’ve seen a gho-” Another figure walks into the doorway, replicating the face of the woman almost to a T. The man you’re staring at is just the slightest bit taller than you, his blonde hair just a shade or two lighter than your own, his blue eyes lit up like the sky, his pale skin goes even paler as your eyes meet his.  


“Well…” The beautiful woman is the first one to speak up of the three of you. “You might as well get here and explain yourself before I call the cops or have to deal with you myself. Jake, go grab an extra chair from the kitchen if you’d please. I have a feeling this will take a bit.” As Jake leaves to go grab a chair, the woman’s eyes meet yours, you feel a warmth ignite in your very core and slide the rest of the way into her home.  


“My name is Aubrey Little, now tell me who you are and why you’re in my house.”

\----

Your name is Indrid Cold, and goddamn, this sure is gonna be one hell of a mess to clean up.  
But that currently seems like a problem for future you. As you wave Pigeon, your young worker, home, you yourself go through a large door reading ‘Employee’s only!’ and head up the stairs to the left, making your way up to your room tiredly. One of the perks of living above your work establishment is the shorter trek home.  
As your body hits your bed, you begin to slip into the sweet, welcoming embrace that is sleep. But as you should’ve expected, you’re not that lucky.  
Your landline begins to ring across the room, and you grumble and make your way over to pick it up.  


“Thank you for call-”  


“Indrid, this late at night you should know who is calling. And as usual, it’s more of an urgent matter. So I suggest you make your way up to the lodge. There’s going to be an issue that will require your assistance in about... twenty-seven minutes now. So get to it, and I suggest changing out of your paint-stained clothes and into something more fitting of a...professional meeting.”  


The other side went dead before you even had a chance to reply, and who are you to argue with a seer? You grumble and cuss your way through changing into something about as professional as you can manage at two in the morning on a Thursday. Getting into your rickety truck, you manage to make it with about eight minutes remaining from the time you were given over the phone.  
You make your way into the lodge and take up residence at a loveseat close to the fireplace in the living room, knowing the people you should be expecting will know exactly where to find you. Almost exactly a minute later saunters and scampers in the two you were waiting for.  


“Glad to see you came, Indrid. There was an entirely large probability of you ignoring my warnings and just going back to your bed.” It was the same voice as the one that had called you to come up here, in all its proper and sassy glory. Smirking at you with that glimmer in her eye that you knew signaled she was messing with you was Juno Divine.  


“Can I say that I wish I had? Cause if I can’t then I’d be lying and you know I try to avoid that as much as I can.”  


“We still ‘preciate you gettin’ here ‘Drid. And I’m really glad you didn’t dress too professional now, that’d been a lil suspicious.” The short and stout man deposited himself into your loveseat, leaning into you as you immediately wrapped one of your gangly arms around him.  


“Not a problem, I guess, Duck. Now how much longer until this issue I was called up here for arrives?” He looked up to Juno, his fingers carding through Duck’s hair gently.  


“Two minutes.” She smiled as her eyes flickered to the window peering outside. You could see on the wall behind her lights refracted from headlights. They turned off after a moment and it was quite for what was left remaining of those couple of minutes, until the door flies open, walking in two regulars of the Lodge and a face you’ve never seen before.  


“Duck, Juno, Indrid! We have a Problem! With a capital P!” Aubrey shouts, her soft young face unusually creased with worry and stress, holding the wrist of the new young girl, who looks utterly and completely scared and lost.  


“A capital P, dudes, shit’s wack.” Jake echoed from behind Aubrey, his elbow positioned on the new girl’s shoulder.  


“Who y’all got there with ya’s? Mighty rude to not introduce a new friend.” Duck shifted so that his feet were thrown over the arm of the loveseat, his head falling into your lap, your arm now strung across his waist.  


“Firstly, yah nasty. Secondly, this is Dani, and she broke into my house.” Aubrey dropped Dani’s wrist and placed her hands on her hips while Dani proceeded to shrug and chuckle nervously.  


“Yeah, I’m uh...new to town, I guess you could say.” She reached up and scratched the back of her neck, shifting awkwardly on her feet.  


“Well seeing as I was called here instead of being allowed to sleep, Juno can you please explain why this is such a large issue?” You prop your chin against your palm and stared tiredly at the seer.  


“Um yeah, I can actually answer that, I was getting to that, but lost that train for a moment. I had tripped at one point, while Dani explained to my why she was breaking into my home, and Dani went to grab my wrist to catch me? I guess? So, my bracelet pulled off, and you all know what happens with that.” As if to mark her point, Aubrey pulls off her bracelet and her disguise falls away, revealing her slightly pointed ears, her elongated canines, sharpened nail, and gold glowing eyes. There was also a soft, gentle halo of light radiating off her body.  
Dani’s eyes immediately met Aubrey’s and the shorter girl turned a bright pink before quickly looking away. You decide you’ll question that whole bit a little later on, and focus on the more important parts.  


“Ah, I see now. Well, I suppose there’s not much we can do about this besides offer her a room and a position in the guard, or kill her.” You tilt your head slightly as everyone turns to look at you with wide eyes. “Yeesh, okay, no joking about killing? Too morbid for three in the goddamn morning for you guys?” You shrug and go back to playing with Duck’s hair.  


“Well, he ain’t wrong, not much in the killing sense, but in the other one. We can get you a room, get you all settled in, and let everyone get a good night of sleep, and then gather all back up in the mornin’, that sound good for y’all?” Duck glanced around at everyone, who seemed to nod along with him. “Good, good. Aubrey, Jake if y’all don’t wanna drive this late you’re both welcome to get rooms as well. ‘Drid, I’m already figurin’ you’re gonna stay?” You nod and yawn.  


“Alright, good talk, good talk. I’ll see you all in the morning. I’m stealing my usual room.” Aubrey waves and shuffles down the hall.  


Everyone slowly breaks apart and returns to their rooms, you follow behind Duck and Dani as Dani is given a room. She thanks you both and turns in for the night. You then follow Duck to his room and change into a spare set of clothes you left there for times like these and tuck yourself into the bed with him, and you both fall asleep quickly, not sure what tomorrow will bring.


	2. Few Answers, Even More Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hollis begins their training, Indrid is less of a bitch because he got some sleep, Dani passes the hell out, the author decides to change how they began writing this, and a small peak into what is yet to come. ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a warning for this chapter, Dani does end up having a panic attack (hence the new tags) which is induced by a reminder of a past event, so if anyone who would be triggered by that wants to skip, just skip to the next page break after Juno says "Haha, very funny, Duck Newton." During the last bit in this chapter there's also a moment of bondage and implied violence, I will try to keep on top of tagging possibly triggering scenes, but if I happen to miss any please let me know!!  
Past that, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Indrid woke up the next morning, or rather later that day, pleasantly warm and pressed against an equally warm body. He tugged Duck closer to him and nuzzled him while letting out a small groan against the light filtering through the blinds, his boyfriend understanding that that was his usual morning question of the current time.  


“‘Sabout, one-ish? Maybe closer to twelve thirty.” Duck rubbed Indrid’s back softly as the latter slowly pushed himself up in bed.  


“Should we go and do this meeting then? Seeing as I’m in a less snippy and exhausted state now.” Indrid rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and then shoved his fingers through his hair, brushing out several tangles as he huffed.  
The floor was ice cold compared to the warmth of their bed, which made Indrid grimace, but he continued his trek to his drawer in the dresser, and then continue into the bathroom to change and get ready for the day without to many words to his boyfriend besides the occasional curses let out as he sleepily ran into things, seeing as his glasses were on the nightstand and his contacts were back home, he really should start leaving some extras at the Lodge seeing how often he was there.  
The shower was a welcome back to the heat he oh-so treasured, and he continued on with his shower and morning routine.

Hollis was beginning to hate this training. It was only really the first session, but they didn’t think this whole ‘Chosen One’ thing was gonna be for them. They had sisters and parents to worry about. Which they supposed that that could be a reason Moira would combat their argument for it, though they could argue back that this was putting them in more danger, it would become a whole process, and they were beginning to think that they were really overthinking this.  


“Do pay attention, young one. I can see that thinking expression on your face. Most of this will rely on instinct. So, don’t think, just act.” Moira chuckled while lunging at the small chosen.  


“That just sounds like a shitty company slogan.” They muttered under their breath and dodged her stick. They weren’t quite sure how she was able to actually attack them, and they decided that it was better to not question how fighting a hologram worked, and rather just fight it.  


Fighting was definitely a second nature to them, seeing as they fought with their sisters plenty growing up, seeing as Pigeon loved pranking them and sneak-attacking them to ‘keep them on their guard’ from what, they weren’t sure. Violetta was generally pretty quiet and kept to herself, but whenever they ate her snacks, she was vicious and unrelenting. Wren was just downright aggressive and almost ready to fight anyone at a moments notice, but they supposed that might’ve just had to do with her being the baby and being relentlessly teased by the other three growing up.  
Dodge, duck, swing, roll, parry, all of the good shit, they were doing it. Hollis hadn’t felt this good in a long time. Their senses seemed sharper, their speed just a little better, but what shocked them the most was how well Violettas broken selfie stick was holding up as a makeshift sword.  


“You fight well, young one. It appears you need little training in the ways of combat, but I can assure you, you’ll need help learning just how your newfound powers will come into play, do sit while I explain.”  


Hollis fell back into the dirt, taking in long breaths of air through their nose as their lungs heaved. Today was going to be a long day.

Dani looked around at the group of humans and non-humans around her, not really sure how to reply to the questions they threw her way. She slouched down into the recliner she oh-so-luckily managed to claim, her face attempting to borrow its way into her shirt.  


“Now, now, let’s give the girl some room, jumpin’ down her throat just ‘cause she’s new ain’t the way to go, and you know it.” Duck clicked his tongue at the others, sliding down comfortably in his own easychair. Dani couldn’t help but giggle at the horrendous color palette the man had picked out to wear, but at the same time seemed so him, for lack of better terms. She hadn’t know Duck for very long, but she could tell she was going to like him.  


“Well, let’s start with an easy question then, what were you doing breaking into my house?” Aubrey leaned forward, making Dani shrink the slightest bit more into herself.  


“I...I didn’t intend to break into an occupied house if that makes you feel any better. I had staked out your house for the past day or two and hadn’t seen hide nor hair of you, Jake or anybody. I figured the place was, I dunno, abandoned? Figured I had a relatively safe place to stay.” Dani muttered, unable to meet the tall, pretty girl’s eyes.  


“Wait, wait, wait.” Dani looked up to see the gangly, white-haired head of Indrid Cold lift up from its spot on the ground beside the fireplace. “You thought you were breaking into an abandoned house? Why would you need to break into a house?” Dani noticed it wasn’t just her who opened her mouth to reply, but Indrid quickly continued before anyone was able to make a sound. “And don’t say anything mysterious like ‘you’re not from around here,’ cause we all clearly know that much. I’m meaning moreso, why do you have to break into any abandoned houses?”  


Dani wasn’t quite sure how to reply to this one, so she stayed quiet a little longer and shifted nervously in her chair.  


“I’m something of a, uh, wanderer, you could say.” She offered a cautious smile. “I don’t really have a home or secure place to stay, I just kinda go where fate leads me I guess.”  


“Funny you should say that.” Juno spoke up from her position at the island counter between the kitchen and the mashup dining-living room. She waved off Duck as he tried to scold her for sitting on the counter while Indrid snorted from his spot on the floor. “Peculiar that the swift, nimble fingers of Fate decided to lead you right into a group such as ours, during this specific time, with a person as adept at fate as me.” She hummed and cradled her cup of hot chocolate in her two hands before raising it to her lips to take a small sip. “I someone of many names, a seer, a prophetess, an augur, soothsayer, I know you’re getting the idea here. Though I do personally prefer being called a diviner.” She gracefully slides off of the counter and walks over to Dani, her hands now cradling Dani’s face, her mug of cocoa long forgotten.  


“No matter how many times you say that doesn't make your name any less funny, Juju.” Duck rolled his eyes, before continuing in a slightly mocking tone. “Juno Divine, the diviner.”  


A small chorus of laughter rang around the room, and Dani watched as, despite herself, Juno let a small smile grace her face.  


“Haha, very funny Duck Newton.” Juno turned her face to look at the man, her crystalline amber eyes glinting in the light. Dani, in the next moments, felt as if all the air was pulled out of her lungs, her eyes essentially glued to the scene unfolding in front of her. Juno’s amber eyes were slowly growing darker and darker, their color spreading outwards until the entirety of her eyes became a solid, glossy black. Dani had learned over the years that darkness meant protection, that it meant home, and it was everything she looked forward to when everything seemed way too bright, but this struck her with terror to her core, it ripped apart everything she was familiar with, this made her question every choice she’s made and even every choice she could have made.  


It wasn’t until she felt her body hit the floor that she realized there was air in her lungs, way too much all the while feeling like way too little. Her breath came out in way too fast successions, her whole body tingled, nothing feeling quite real. She wasn’t quite sure what she was looking at, Juno’s eyes, the scene of her parent’s death, the stony, cold face of Aubrey when she broke into her house, or a too-close carpet with her face shoved into it, but it didn’t seem to matter much longer as the darkness pulled her into it, cold and unforgiving, not even allowing her to hear the shocked murmur rip through the room around her.

“Oh goddammit.” 

While all of these events slowly unfolded throughout the day, a creature was beginning to take its shape in the murky, shadowed darkness of a world no more. A singular not quite neon green light sat in the middle of the quickly growing ball, it’s shape-shifting between many. Humanoid, animal-like, reptilian, plantish, before the figure settles as a small, almost harmless creature, the only really alarming thing on the figure being its oddly sharp teeth and claws. It’s wide, slitted eyes blinked slowly, looking up into the darkness above it.  


“You’re perfect, my little darling.” Several voices purred to it at once. Another figure sat staring at the smaller creature, their shadowy body cracked in several places, with each crack revealing a different color of light. Their many eyes blinked, one at a time, while two of the hands rested against their hip, one reaching up to cup their cheek, while the other three reached out to another figure, bruised, bloodied and bound. “What do you think, my dear doctor?”  


The doctor just looked on in defeat, squeezing her eyes tightly shut, attempting to project a thought, a vision, an inkling, anything to her friends in the outside world, trying to give them a warning to the growing power of the horrible, twisted being in front of her.  


“Now, now, you know how we feel about the silent treatment.” The beings fingers all grew out into claws as it descended on the poor, powerless doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, I changed the 'POV' of the story, as this comes more naturally to me. I'm still working out the exacts of this AU, but if you guys want to shoot me any ideas for abominations, events, or really just anything feel free to reach out to me on tumblr @panasonicgirl! I'll try to figure out a posting schedule, though be on the look out on Wednesdays/Thursdays/Fridays at the moment. Also sorry if it seems like I'm picking on Dani, it'll be over soon! And Hollis will begin interacting with the rest of the characters soon as well!


	3. Getting the Gang (Back?) Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dani bonds with Duck, Indrid gives Dani and Aubrey his credit card, Hollis gets a vision, and a cat grows sneaky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So!!! I just want to take a moment to give a huge shoutout to @taako-waititi on tumblr (@thor20 here on AO3) for being such an amazing writer. Today is also their birthday, so happy birthday! They've actually inspired me to actually write this story, and I've actually used some of their headcanons/ideas a bit, such as Pigeon and Hollis being siblings! There's also a small mention of Hollis telling one of their siblings to water their plants, which is a bit of a nod to one of their Children of Sylvain stories. Dani's middle name of Evelyn also comes from that same series where Dani has a twin whose name is Evelyn, but I wasn't quite sure how to fit that in there. Anyway, happy birthday Tin!! Thank you for inspiring me so much! (And I may have been the one to send the anon about dedicating chapters :A)
> 
> This chapter Dani also confides in Duck and vaguely describes her parents being killed in an armed robbery, so you'd be good to skip about a paragraph or two!!

Wherever Dani was, it was too fucking bright and was giving her a pounding headache, and she had yet to even open her eyes. While she lay there, attempting to mentally make her pain go away, the world around her started to jumpstart back to life. All in one large, annoying, indiscernible clump. 

“Explain to me again how you didn’t know this was gonna happen?”

“Well, it had such a small possibility of happening, I didn’t really think it would.” 

“Will she be ok? I didn’t know her very well but she seemed really cool.” 

“Aubrey she broke into your house.” 

“Well, she means well. Even so, it’s not like we’re not criminals either, we don’t even pay taxes, that’s like, fraud or something!” 

“Well, do we legally exist? Holy shit, am I real? If I don’t pay taxes, does that affect my credibility?” 

“Jake you don’t have a license, if not paying taxes doesn’t cover your credibility, not having a license certainly does.” 

“Holy shit, Aubs, I don’t have a driver's license! Duck, you have to teach me how to drive!”

“Firstly, why’s it gotta me to teach you how to drive? Secondly, why d'ya need to drive? You’re the one always talking about bein’ the leader of that bike gang nonsense, or whatever it is.” To this one, Dani heard a gasp along with it. 

“Oh shit, I’ve abandoned my boys! I’ll see you guys later, I forgot we had park clean up today!” This one she heard gradually get quieter before the door to the lodge slammed shut. 

“Well I, for one, am hungry. If I’m needed, I’ll be in the kitchen.” 

“Hey, hey Indy, can you make me a sandwich?” 

“I’m not your maid, get one yourself.” This time, she heard a groan and the retreating footsteps of two people.

“I’m also going to take my leave. There’s a highly probable chance of her waking up in the next couple of minutes, and I don’t want to cause any more problems than I already have, I’ll be helping Keith get unstuck, again.” With that, Dani heard one more person leaving the room, and was finally able to pry her eyes open.  
This only intensified her headache, but with a moment or two of her eyes opening, two hands came into her line of vision, and she managed to focus her eyes onto the man sitting in front of her. 

“I’m assumin’ you’re gonna need these. You seemed to hit your head pretty damn hard, and having experienced many panic attacks myself, I’m assumin’ this’ll just...help.” Duck gently pressed two small pills and a glass of water into her hands, offering her a small, nervous smile. She gave him a small, thankful one right back, before taking the pills. 

“So, I dunno if you’d wanna, but would ’ya like to talk about it?” Duck offered. 

“I...yes. That would be nice. I don’t usually get to talk stuff out. Haven’t really had anyone to talk anything out with in the past few years.” She took a sip of the water, silently figuring out just how she wanted to explain it. 

“My parents died,” She took a deep breath before continuing, staring at her clenched hands in her lap, rather than at Duck, especially at his intake of breath. She didn’t need pity. “I didn’t see it actually happen. We went to some huge strip mall thing in my hometown, they wanted to get some jewelry for their upcoming anniversary, figured they’d take a while, and I had some extra money so I went to another store. Anyway, I came back. There was an armed robbery or something of the likes. My parents were only two of the victims, the couple workers they had were killed too, along with whatever other customers just had shitty luck.” She felt the tears well up in her eyes as her hands traveled to bunch in the hem of her sweater. “When I got there, two of the cases of jewelry were empty, the alarms were ringing, and all of the victim’s shit was spread everywhere. As if whoever did it decided along with jewelry, they were gonna ransack their wallets and purses too. So I went over to my parents, grabbed the bags from all of the places we went, grabbed their keys off of the ground and went home. Packed up anything and everything I thought I’d need, grabbed anything I figured I could pawn off if I ended up needing any money and left town. Though between walking into the jewelry store and several hours later when I was on a train to wherever it was all a blur at the time like I was on autopilot or something.” She finally released the white-knuckled grip of her sweater and looked up at Duck, his eyes shining with unshed tears, while hers already paved their paths down her face. “Looking back it’s a little childish, reckless and impulsive, but seeing as I was like, nineteen or twenty at the time, I feel I can allow myself that bit of forgiveness. I was young, dumb and with that situation, I could’ve done worse. Now, I do feel bad about all the places I broke into or the people I stole from, but that’s only really from the past several months, and I usually only stole from people who I’d seen do something bad or broke into places that seemed empty or abandoned. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, I didn’t mean to scare Aubrey, though she has every reason to hate me, and you guys have every reason to take me to the cops. Not like anyone would believe me if I told them I’d seen a vampire. It would just put me in a mental institution, though maybe that’s what I need.” She gave a sour laugh which turned into a series of hiccups as her tears continued to burn down her face.  
The dam holding Duck’s tears finally broke and he quickly pulled her to his chest, squeezing her ever so gently.  
“Aw damn, Dani, I’m really sorry you had to go through all that, that’s some stressful ass shit, especially for how young you were.” He rocked her gently, keeping her in his arms. “God, I really ain’t the best at these sad, sappy conversations, uh..this is something more Aubrey or Jake’s route. Thank you for trusting me enough to say all of that, and I can promise you that none of us are gonna turn you into the police, as if any of the shitty ass cops here would do much anyway, that ol’ Stern guy has some sorta stick up his ass. Not enough to do much about our lil’ guard operation though.” Duck chuckled slightly, Dani sniffling from her spot on his shoulder.  
“You’re family now, Dans, the lodge isn’t just for monsterfolks as you’d know ‘em. This lodge is for anyone who’s lost, unwanted, or just a general outsider. Hell, I don’t even know what I’d do if I had any magic abilities or whatever like everyone else here does. So we can be our weird, powerless flesh bags together. Although I do gotta tell you about all the rules and whatnot, you’re welcome to stay here, we’d love to have yah.” He pulled away and brushed her hair back from her face and wiped her tears away, reminding her the slightest bit of how her mom did when she was younger.  
“Yeah, yeah I think I’d like that.” She giggled a little and reached up to wipe her nose on the sleeve of her sweater. “Also sorry for the snot on your shirt.”  
“Eh, this shirt ain’t that special.” He waved her off. “Now, how about we join Indrid and Aubrey in the kitchen? Both of them are helpless cooks, even if it’s just sandwiches.”  
Duck stood up and offered her his hand, which she took tentatively, and followed him into the kitchen. 

Duck and Dani walking in while Aubrey and Indrid were wrestling on the floor fighting over who got the last slice of cheese for their sandwich isn’t the worst thing that Duck has seen Indrid do, but it was still certainly embarrassing, especially as Indrid gave Duck a once-over and noticed that both him and Dani had clearly been crying. Indrid let go of the small, packaged slice of cheese while Aubrey sat up, essentially straddling Indrid, holding the cheese high above their heads. 

“Ahah! The cheese is mine now, old man!” She shouted, causing Dani to let out a small, surprised giggle, which in turn made Aubrey look up and turn a deep red. “Oh, uh, hi, I’m glad you’re awake.” 

While Aubrey was distracted by the short blonde, Indrid proceeded to shove Aubrey off of him as he stood up to talk to Duck. 

“Hey!” Aubrey squawked and flailed for a moment, before quickly bouncing up to her feet, playfully slapping Indrid’s arm with the slice of cheese, her face still burning red. 

Indrid snickered as he wrapped his arms around Duck and gave him a gentle hug, kissing the top of his head before pulling away and digging into his jean pocket. He pulled out his wallet, and then pulled out one of his credit cards and offered it between two fingers to Aubrey, who gave him a quizzical look. 

“It appears that our dear Dani here is going to stay, or at least I’m assuming so?” He turned and looked at the girl in question, who gave him a small nod. “Good, good. I’m giving you, Aubrey dear, my card to take our new lodge member anything she may need to make her room a little more hers, along with maybe some clothes, or makeup or whatever other items she may need, as she didn’t bring much yesterday. You know the rules.” He gestured vaguely around with the card before offering it once again to Aubrey, the fiery-haired girl taking the card this time, while looking to her soon-to-be-roadtrip-mate. 

Dani, on the other hand, wasn’t as accepting as Aubrey was about the card. 

“Oh, no, I couldn’t. I only just got here, I couldn’t impose myself in such a way, it’d just be a waste of your money.” She insisted, hugging her arms to her chest quickly. 

“Not a waste, just an...investment of our future. Not many people join our little lodge family these days, and those who do join tend to stick around for quite a while. It’d be quite rude if I were to abandon my place as Lodge ‘Sugar Daddy’ as Aubrey and Jake have nicknamed me such. I’ve paid for everyone to personalize their rooms, within reason. I still don’t understand why Jake tried to insist that a slide in his room was needed for his well being, or why Aubrey tried to claim she’s ‘absolutely and totally die if I don’t get a fucking hot tub, Indrid.” He did a poor imitation of Aubrey’s voice before leveling his gaze to the girl. “And I know you’re trying to order one behind my back, I’ve specifically called my card company to decline any hot tub related purchases.” 

Their antics caused Dani to burst out into laughter, and Duck to crack a grin. 

“Now, Dani dear, allow me to treat a new family member, we’ll also need to know your favorite meal as well, it’s a, uh, lodge tradition you could say. For birthdays, anniversaries and whatnot we usually cook that person’s favorite meal. By we, I mean Duck and Juno, as they’re not helpless in the kitchen.”

“Oh! Um…” Dani’s nose crinkled while she thought before a small smile graced her face. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a real meal, but before...everything, my mama used to make a really good honey garlic chicken stir fry, but she always did a side of white rice with sauteed onions and jasmine that was really good. I actually remember the recipe for it, because mama and mom tried to teach me how to cook it, but I always burnt the chicken. Still edible, but not as good as they made it.” She gave him a wistful smile, before casting her gaze to the ground. 

“That would be absolutely great, darling.” He smiled, wandering over to grab a small notepad on the counter along with a pen from some miscellaneous drawer and walking it over to her. “Write it on here and I and Duck will grab the ingredients while you guys shop. We’ll have it done by eight-ish tonight, so make sure you’re home by then, though seeing as it’s about two, you guys will have plenty of time.”

Dani scribbled out the recipe for him, handing him the notepad and pen back with a look of gratitude. She quietly thanked him and Duck and hesitantly gave them each a quick and gentle hug before dashing over to Aubrey and bouncing excitedly on her toes.

Duck and Indrid watched the two girls run out of the kitchen, over to where the shoes lay abandoned by the door. They stayed quiet while Dani pulled her grey converse on and laced them, opposing Aubrey pulling on her caution tape yellow combat boots and zipping them up the sides, the doors slamming shut not too long after that as the girls giggled and ran out to Aubrey’s large but old red truck. 

This left just Duck and him in the kitchen, their arms around each other, an unconscious habit of theirs. Indrid turned to Duck once again and pulled him into a gentle and short kiss, their foreheads resting together. 

“Go ahead, I know you wanna.” Duck murmured, a teasing smirk finding its way to Duck’s lips. 

“Alright, Mr. Know-It-All. Why’d you both come in here all teary-eyed and snot-nosed?” He reached up and tapped Duck’s nose in the sassiest way he could possibly muster. 

“She told me about how she ended up on her own, and I gotta say dumplin’, poor girl’s been through a lot. ‘M glad she trusts us, but I’m worried she’s not tellin’ us somethin’ but from what she’s told me today, I’ll leave well’nough alone, for now, don’t wanna scare her off.” He sighed slightly and turned his gaze back to the front door the two girls left from. 

“She does seem like she’s carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Though based on it all, I do think she’ll open up more to Aubrey than the rest of us, seeing as Aubrey was the first of us to really accept her and give her a chance.” Indrid hummed. “Now, why don’t we head on out to the store? I’m assuming Juno’s waiting in the car for us.” Indrid reached down and tangled his and Duck’s fingers together. 

“Ain’t a doubt in my mind, casanova.” Duck winked at him and they made their way to the door to put their shoes on and head out to the car, and if Aubrey and Dani were still in Aubrey’s truck, picking music or just plain chatting, well who was he to judge? 

Looking up at a large, evil cat was the last thing Hollis was expecting. The cat very much reminded them of the Chesire Cat, if only it were sharper and about the size of an adult horse. It’s growl sent shivers down their spine as they cursed and backed up, their trusty baseball bat gripped tightly in their hands. 

They quickly backed up and made a mad dash down the path in the forest they were on, leading them to the large lodge they knew was on the outskirts of Kepler. They were eventually joined on their path by a young man and two young women, all seeming to be around their age. The man had bleached blonde hair, topped with a black beanie, his striking blue eyes looked at Hollis with fear, as he yelled something to them that they couldn’t quite make out. Next, they turned to the smaller of the two women, another bleach blonde with deep green eyes filled with worry, clutching what looked like a crossbow to Hollis, her speed seemed to be dwindling in just the slightest to make the other girl grab her arm and tug her along with her. It was this woman’s appearance that startled them the most. Shockingly bright hair going from a red to a vibrant yellow, resembling that of a fire, with almost equally bright amber eyes. Her dark skin glowed, and Hollis didn’t think it was from the moon burning a hole in the sky above them.

They finally tore their eyes away from the people around them and instead stopped dead in their tracks, using whatever momentum they were able to gain from their previous speed to swing their bat with all their might at the horrifying cat creature behind them. 

The power of the hit surprised the cat about as much as it shocked them. They sent the cat flying hind paws over pointed ears, a few dozen feet back on the path. They stayed glued in their spot for a moment in shock before the blonde boy grabbed his hand and tugged him into the cellar of the lodge, right behind the pair of girls. 

It was as they descended into this darkness that Hollis opened their eyes, staring up at the solid white ceiling of their bedroom. They took a few solid breaths of air before turning and pressing their face into their pillow, screaming with all their might. After sitting with their face shoved in their pillow for a few moments, they pulled away and glanced at their alarm clock. 

7:34. 

They groaned and sat up, reaching down and grabbing their red converse and shoving them on begrudgingly, tying them up tightly. They left their room soon after, going outside and grabbing Violetta’s bike from where it leaned against the side of their house. 

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going on my bike!” Violetta pushed open the screen door, apparently having followed them from when they stormed down the stairs. 

“I forgot I had to go run an errand, Pigeon has the car, so I’m gonna borrow your bike.” They explained shortly, climbing onto the cushioned seat. “Where’s your helmet at, what the hell.” They mumbled. Violetta peaked into the house for a moment before coming back out and tossing a matte black helmet to them. 

“Whatever, just make sure you don’t break anything or you’re paying to fix it.” Violetta stuck her tongue out at them. 

“You know goddamn well enough that Pigeon will fix this thing in like five minutes if anything were to happen to it.” They rolled their eyes. “Oh! Water Tabby and the gang for me, will ya?” They waved to Violetta before tearing out of the driveway with surprising speed for a bicycle, not really listening for a reply. 

It took a little bit for them to get to their destination, but once they got there, they checked their watch. 7:58. They just about knocked on the door before realizing this was essentially a simplified hotel and walking right in. 

The group of people sitting at the large table to the right of the front door was already looking there as if expecting their arrival. 

“So,” They began as they kicked off their shoes, having seen the rest of the shoes littered by the door. “Not to ruin your lovely smelling dinner, there’s some freaky ass cat thing I had a dream about, and it definitely seemed more like a, uh, vision I guess? But you were all in it. Well, not all of you, just the three of you guys.” They pointed to the three from their vision, all luckily sitting in a little line, as if expecting to be grouped together during their interruption. Everyone around the table stared on in silence until a beautiful tanned woman stood up and cleared her throat. Everyone’s gaze turned to her. 

“Hollis Wilson, if you’d take a plate and a seat.” She motioned to the one free chair at the table with a plate of steaming food already positioned there. “There is much to discuss.” Hollis stared on in slight caution but listened regardless. They looked to their right and met eyes with the blonde guy from their dream, finally recognizing him finally. 

“Jake.” They nodded slightly in acknowledgment. 

“Hollis.” Jake nodded back, a slight pink tint to his cheeks. Hollis then turned to their left and met eyes with another familiar figure, with gentle brown eyes and a crimson undercut. 

“Keith.” Hollis gave the boy a slight salute, having seen the boy hang out with their sister often. 

“Sup, Hols, how’s Pigeon?” His lips quirked in a small smile. 

“Eh, the usual I suppose? Busy but always with time for her loved ones.” They gave a small laugh before turning to the woman from earlier. 

“So, your vision?” She offered before taking a small bite of the food in front of her. “Wonderful, thank you for your recipe, Dani.” 

“Not a problem.” The small blonde girl from his dream replied softly, continuing to eat herself. Hollis hummed softly before taking a forkful of food and giving it a try themself. It was a wonderful dish, and as much as they’d love to linger and appreciate the amazing food, there was a more pressing matter at hand. 

“So, my vision,” Hollis continued, explaining it all to them, in as much detail as they could remember. 

Outside, the moon shone brightly in the sky, hitting its fullest and casting the strange accumulation of rocks with its gentle, loving light. The air around the rocks hummed, beginning to reflect the light in on itself, the light building slowly, growing in brilliance, opening a rift to another world, another planet, though not giving any hint of even existing to an innocent stargazer who was all set up not too far off from this strange gate. 

A small, black cat came slinking from the rift in the portal, which closed much as it had appeared. The cat made its way lazily over to the stargazer, brushing its soft head against where their hand lay resting on the ground beside them. 

“Oh! Hey lil guy!” The stranger huffed out in reply, their voice gruff yet gentle. “Why aren’t you a sweetie?” They smiled as they getting pet the cat, sitting up from where they had been lying. “You don’t seem to have a collar, would you mind comin’ on home with me? I’ll get you all fed up for the night and let you back out in the morning.” The cat purred loudly as if agreeing with the deal set out before it. 

“A deal it is! I’ll go ahead and call you…” They hummed slightly, then noticed the small wisps of fur at the tip of the cat's ears. “Lynx! You little cutie must have more lynx in you than anything.” They picked up the cat gently, beginning to walk the path back to their house. “Well, little Lynx, you can call me Barclay.”


End file.
